To Produce or Not to Produce: Neil LaBute
REX/Shutterstock
Melody DeRogatis
(Due to the nature of this piece, the author has used the term “womxn” throughout. The term Womxn is an alternative term for the English language word women which has been regularly in use since 2015 to explicitly include transgender women and women of color.)
“Theatre holds a mirror to society” is a classic trope used by many in the theatre-making industry. One playwright who tries to play on this idea is Neil LaBute; a playwright who focuses his work on the uglier social aspects of society. A large task of theatre-makers is making art that touches on timely, poignant topics; speaking on social issues is a necessary taboo of theatre that has been around as long as the art form itself.
However, if a playwright’s mode of speaking to “social issues” is by empowering the people at the root of the problem, is that the most effective way to combat the issue at hand?
Holding a mirror to see a reflection can be effective, but if it makes the reflection bigger and more problematic, it’s not a mirror to be holding. Additionally, who should be the person “holding the mirror”— writing these plays to make theatergoers reflect on their social norms? If a person has been accused of sexual assault and misogyny, they perpetuate societal issues, and their art doesn’t “hold a mirror to society”, offering a chance for people to reflect, but rather, triggers audience members, and puts these issues in a harsh light that makes them seem beyond repair.
Neil LaBute’s set the stage for his playwriting style with his play Dirty Talk for Troubled Times, produced off-off-Broadway in 1989— a play about two men sitting at a bar, being sexist, racist, and homophobic. Dirty Talk for Troubled Times, featured a problematic, profane conversation-style that would later be featured in Neil LaBute’s first feature film: In the Company of Men, a movie about two men, who are upset with generally, who decide to harass their deaf female co-worker.
Of course, perhaps LaBute’s most popular works in the theatrical industry are his works that comment on physical appearance or overall desirability— Fat Pig, reasons to be pretty and The Shape of Things. Fat Pig is about a plus-size woman who dates a “conventionally attractive” man who doesn’t want to be seen in public with her because she’s too fat. Reasons to be pretty deals with a woman who is called “average-looking” by her husband, and then their whole world falls apart, and The Shape of Things is about a mean woman who dates a guy as a social experiment. All three of the plays leave the audience with the overall moral, that the woman are not good enough. Fat Pig, plus-size womxn aren’t worthy, reasons to be pretty, all womxn are good for are their physical appearance, or, in the case of The Shape of Things, womxn are evil.
From Left: Jeremy Piven and Ashlie Atkinson in Fat Pig (Photo by Joan Marcus)
It’s true— there are ableist, racist, sexist, fatphobic, homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, prejudiced people in this world, masses of them, even one who is president of the United States. The issue in Neil LaBute’s plays isn’t that these characters exist, but the fact that they are the ones in power by the end of the piece. Neil LaBute’s plays celebrate oppressive, problematic behaviors.
There are many great plays that have problematic characters— that’s drama, that’s how we “hold a mirror to society”, but by letting the problematic characters drive the plot, and award them for their asshole behavior, we’re just making art that tells the world that it’s okay to be an asshole. It is not only the task of the theatre to reflect issues happening in the world around us, but also to offer solutions, and to give hope that there are ways that we can combat the problems that hang over us… Neil LaBute presents these issues and applauds them for it.
Of course, theatre is a collaborative art form. Production teams and casts bring the script to the stage and can change the narrative in the process. Can someone produce a production of Fat Pig that empowers Helen? Sure. But, that doesn’t change the fact that by producing his work, you are putting your money into the hands of a person who has documented cases of misconduct against him. Neil LaBute also identifies as a Mormon— a religion known for being homophobic and sexist. Additionally, Neil LaBute is in the category of playwrights produced the most— straight, cis, white men. There are an innumerable amount of playwrights on New Play Exchange who are womxn, queer, people of color, who don’t get nearly enough chances to have their work produced, and offer a “mirror to be held” in a non-problematic way.
The art you make is a reflection of who you are as an artist. For example, one of the theaters that produced LaBute’s work the most (including several premiere productions), was Profiles Theatre, a storefront theatre company in Chicago shut down after years of sexual assault, harassment, and physical abuse. A safe, healthy space is essential to making theatre. Producing Neil LaBute’s work is oppressive to womxn, people of size, people of color, people with disabilities, and many other groups, while simultaneously putting money into the hands of someone known to be problematic and hurtful. Keep your theatre life safe and healthy, and truly consider your choice before producing, or working on, a Neil LaBute piece.